Lisa from 'Bachelor in Paradise' on why she and Luke broke up: 'He just can't commit'

The real world proved too much for one of Paradise's most solid couples.

Apr 17, 2018 1:41am

By Jessica Chandra

Who would have thought Lisa Hyde and Luke McLeod's relationship on Bachelor in Paradise would end the way it has? From the very beginning, Lisa — the runner-up from Blake Garvey's season of The Bachelor in 2014 — and Luke — the handsome George Clooney lookalike from Sophie Monk's season of The Bachelorette — seemed solid. In fact, things between them seemed like they were going so swimmingly that we didn't see much footage of them hanging out, and just assumed they'd cruise through Paradise and be one of the last couples standing.

That wasn't the case. With just over a week to go in Fiji, and a few moments that unsettled their relationship, Lisa decided that she wanted to try and make things work with Luke in the real world — you know, where they're not just lounging on the beach drinking cocktails all day. Luke was a little confused about his feelings — especially after Michael Turnbull went rogue at the previous rose ceremony, and gave his rose to Lisa — but in the end he realised that he cared enough about Lisa to leave with her.

This all played out on last night's episode. But in the weeks prior, it came to light that things between Lisa and Luke didn't actually work out in the real world. There were also reports of cheating on Luke's part, which he addressed when Cosmo chatted to him this morning.

Of course, there are two sides to every story. Cosmo also spoke to Lisa to find out why she left Paradise and what happened when she and Luke tried to be a couple IRL.

At what point did you decide you wanted to leave Paradise and try things with Luke in the real world?

Watching it last night is a little bit confusing — it was confusing for me as well, and that's why I took to social media to try and explain a little bit. It wasn't a decision that I made just on that day. It had been going for over a week. I did have an opportunity with work come through. When you're running your own business, it's really hard to just sit back and let those dreams slip away. As much as I wanted to be there, and I wanted to drink more daiquiris on the beach, it was time to go. Luke respected my decision and it was up to him whether he wanted to come as well.

To be honest, there's a week left to go, and one more week being there really wouldn't determine whether I liked him or not — I already knew that I liked him. So for me, I went with my heart and my head, and I decided to go for my goals, and if Luke wanted to come as well then that's up to him.

What was that like for you to be separated from your phone and social media, things you've built your business on, to go back to that world of not having any access to anything?

I remember what it was like on The Bachelor, and we couldn't have any phones or any connection with the outside. I kind of prepped as much as I could, and I've got staff who run the business, and they do an amazing job. But unfortunately in this case I had an opportunity come through, which I'm currently working on, and that's with a department store overseas in London. It's just the way the world works, and unfortunately we've got to get back to real life. If a partner respects you and respects what you do, then they're gonna be up for coming back and doing that with you, and sharing that journey with you.

What happened between you and Luke in the real world? I know you haven't been divulging exactly what went wrong.

I'm leaving details out for a certain reason — obviously there are some things I would like to keep private between us, and I know Luke is feeling it a little bit more than me. I've got a lot of support out there from women and that's amazing. We did date for a couple of months and there was someone else involved. For me, I've got a lot of respect for myself and I've got a lot of respect for women, so I just didn't feel it was right to stick around and try to make it work. I think I was done after I found out the news and moved on.

There was also a group chat screenshot that got leaked. Do you know how that happened?

That's really sad for me to know that someone who leaked that is a friend of mine. This was a private chat between a couple of us on the show. And we shared lots of information, it's not just stuff about Luke and I. They've screenshotted it all and sold the story for money, which is really sad and upsetting. I kind of feel sorry for the person who feels like that is normal in this life. It's sad that that's the way it came out. It is what it is — what else can you say?

You guys already got paid to go on a holiday!

Yeah! I think with me I'm just someone who stays out of other people's business. If something happened to another couple there's no way I'd share that information to be paid, or I don't know, to feel good about yourself — who knows what they were thinking when they did it, but I'm feeling very sorry for them when we all find out about it and that person is no longer in the group anymore.

Have you seen Luke's Instagram Stories from this morning?

I did. I just got off Studio 10 and I've just watched them.

He looks so down.

Yeah, he looks very sad. I think… you've just gotta stand up for… I don't know how to angle it. He's doing what he can do. He just has to do what he needs to do. If he's coming across sad it's probably because he is sad of what he did. Man up, speak up and take responsibility for your actions.

Are you guys still chatting?

We did have a few conversations before the show started — obviously our relationship is in the public eye so we knew we'd have to talk about it. But out of respect we made things quite civil and decided to not go into details. We're on talking terms — like if he calls me and wants to chat I'd talk to him. But there's no going back — after you break the trust with someone it's really hard to go back from that.

You said you were hoping to meet your husband in Fiji.

[Laughs] What a crazy person! I sounded a bit crazy! I don't know why I came across like that. For me, we had one more week to go, and sitting around, talking and drinking daiquiris isn't going to confirm whether I like Luke or not. I knew I liked him, I had a business opportunity outside, I was ready to leave so I asked if he was ready to leave. To be honest, if you like someone… this is probably the reason why he's single — he just can't commit!

Actually the question I was going to ask if you were you confident you could meet a potential life partner in a former contestant? Like had you been keeping up with who the contestants were?

I'd watched the shows. I didn't really know Luke that well because he wasn't on Sophie Monk's season for too long, so I didn't know too much about him. To be honest, I thought there was gonna be other people outside of The Bachelor going into Paradise, and that was mentioned, and one of the reasons why I did go forward with it was because I thought there would be other I'd be meeting, as well as Bachelor people. But I'm not too sure what happened as that wasn't the case.

I don't know if it would have changed anything. Luke and I had a very special connection. We dated afterwards for a couple of months. It doesn't matter who was in there — I think I still would have made the same decision.

When Michael went rogue at that rose ceremony…

[Laughs] Oh my God, I love Michael so much, he's so funny. Michael and I are really good friends. We get along really well. I don't blame him. We just had a really lovely connection in there, and I think maybe he kind of took it as a little bit more than what it was. But good on him for standing up, following his heart and going for the girl he wanted. I wasn't going to not accept the rose and send him home, that's for sure. Michael deserves to find love just as much as anyone. I thought it was really courageous and gutsy to get up there and do that.

So is that how it works? If someone doesn't accept a rose then the person giving it gets eliminated?

Yeah! Well that's what I'm assuming happens. We were never told, and this is the first [season]. So it was like, do I say no and Michael goes home? Luke and I were very aware of where we were at in our relationship, and we talked about going into the rose ceremony, and we knew we would give each other the roses — we had been doing that for weeks. I just think he wanted to give it to the person he liked, and good on him for doing that before he left.

When you were telling Luke that you and Michael had a handshake, I didn't think it would be a literal handshake.

Oh no, we did [laughs]. We literally did that every day to try and improve it. I can't believe we nailed it right on camera, because we were hopeless before that. When I was watching that back I was like, "How old are we? Twelve?" [Laughs] Literally you turn into children. There's not much else to do there but get back to being kids and thinking about your own fun games to do.

Were you ever attracted to anyone else on the island?

It was always Luke. I did question when he said he was interested in meeting someone else that walks in. I guess you want to meet everyone who walks in — that's fair enough to say. Obviously that conversation didn't just go for five minutes; we chatted about it. I don't think at that moment he really know what he was saying. He did like me, but I don't think he was ready to commit — and I wasn't asking him to commit at all. And even when we left, I wasn't asking him to commit to me. I just said, "Let's get out in the real world and see if we can date normally." There was no pressure on anyone to commit. That's how a relationship starts — you have to work on it first, build and grow together. It was a lot more realistic dating there than it was on The Bachelor.

How did everyone else react to you leaving? The episode kind of skipped past it.

I know! To be honest we had some really fun times in there that weren't shown, which was really upsetting. We got to do a lot of fun stuff together, and go on a special date. It was a bit confusing at the end because I think it was the first time anyone had heard us talk together, and here I am being like, "Hey, mate, do you wanna leave?" What a crazy person! It was crazy for me to watch as well because I was like, "This is not exactly what I remember."

Did you also make the decision to not post much about the show on Instagram in general? I think your post last night was your first.

Yeah, it was the first. I didn't go on the show for publicity, or to be on TV or for fame. I went in there, honestly, to find someone. I just didn't find it genuine to say, "Hey, watch tonight and see if Luke and I give each other a rose!" That's not me at all. I didn't find it authentic to be posting. There was no requirement to post, so I kept that out of it. I'm not going to flood my feed; people are watching it on TV. It's a little bit narcissitic as well [laughs]. "Look at me! I'm on TV everyone!"

The photos also don't go with your grid aesthetic.

No, it doesn't. [Laughs] I'm glad someone else noticed.

Would you go on a reality show for love again?

No, definitely not. I think I want to try and find someone the old-fashioned way. Back to basics. If you have a nice guy or a nice friend, let me know [laughs].

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